This series is a breath of fresh air when compared to the mindless programming typical of network television.
When the original Cosmos series aired on PBS in the early 1980s, the dynamism of Carl Sagan showed how educational television could also be enormously popular. Now, over three decades later, the next edition of "Cosmos" retains the integrity of the original series while providing the latest findings in science and astronomy.
Carl Sagan was a true Renaissance man, who synthesized history, philosophy, art, and science in the Cosmos series and the superb book that accompanied the program. Now, one of our finest scientists, Neil deGrasse Tyson, serves as our guide to the universe with outstanding commentary in the sequel. There was an especially moving moment when Professor Tyson recalled the time when he was warmly greeted by Carl Sagan, who took time out of his busy schedule to provide a personal tour of the Cornell campus when Tyson was about to enter college.
It is impressive that a television personality on the order of Seth MacFarlane would produce this series that includes animated recreations of historical events, such as the trial and execution of the seventeenth century "heretic" Giordano Bruno. The animations are a cut above the generic dramatizations with actors, wherein the bottom drops out of most television documentaries.
In the Academic Awards telecast hosted by MacFarlane, he closed the show with a star turn in singing "Here's to the Losers." But in this truly outstanding series of "Cosmos: A Space Time Odyssey," it is clear that everyone is a winner, especially the viewers who can embark on the voyage of a lifetime when they climb aboard The Ship of the Imagination for thirteen stellar episodes.
When the original Cosmos series aired on PBS in the early 1980s, the dynamism of Carl Sagan showed how educational television could also be enormously popular. Now, over three decades later, the next edition of "Cosmos" retains the integrity of the original series while providing the latest findings in science and astronomy.
Carl Sagan was a true Renaissance man, who synthesized history, philosophy, art, and science in the Cosmos series and the superb book that accompanied the program. Now, one of our finest scientists, Neil deGrasse Tyson, serves as our guide to the universe with outstanding commentary in the sequel. There was an especially moving moment when Professor Tyson recalled the time when he was warmly greeted by Carl Sagan, who took time out of his busy schedule to provide a personal tour of the Cornell campus when Tyson was about to enter college.
It is impressive that a television personality on the order of Seth MacFarlane would produce this series that includes animated recreations of historical events, such as the trial and execution of the seventeenth century "heretic" Giordano Bruno. The animations are a cut above the generic dramatizations with actors, wherein the bottom drops out of most television documentaries.
In the Academic Awards telecast hosted by MacFarlane, he closed the show with a star turn in singing "Here's to the Losers." But in this truly outstanding series of "Cosmos: A Space Time Odyssey," it is clear that everyone is a winner, especially the viewers who can embark on the voyage of a lifetime when they climb aboard The Ship of the Imagination for thirteen stellar episodes.